Friday, February 19, 2010

"Get off the stage!!!"

September, 1984. I was with my Dad, my uncle, and a friend of theirs to go and see Steppenwolf and Three Dog Night at the Puyallup Fair Grandstand. I wasn't a fan or anything; I was just eight, and had no option but to go along with them. I don't remember much about the concert, except for two things. One was that a brawl broke out a few rows behind us towards the end of the Three Dog Night set, and a lot of guys were jumping in to break it up.

The other thing was the short comedy act that took place while Steppenwolf's gear was being broken down in order for Three Dog Night to play their show. The comedian's name was Ross Schafer, and he was one of the guys from one of the local Good Morning, Seattle-type of shows that were on in the early weekday mornings.

This guy comes out on stage in a pink sweater (of all things!) and proceeds ahead with his stand-up shtick. But I can't hear what he's trying to say, because the audience is booing, shouting, cussing at the guy, and throwing him the finger, followed by a chant to Get off the stage!. He cut out early to avoid any objects being thrown onto the stage in his direction.

I learned then and there that it was not a good idea to try to do comedy in front of a loud, rowdy, beer-drinking crowd who were there to hear "Born To Be Wild" and "Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog". Especially while wearing a pink sweater. Yikes!